It was Derek Jeter Day at Yankee Stadium today and legends ranging from Cal Ripken Jr to Michael Jordan showed up to honor the man that some have called the “Michael Jordan of Baseball.”

“I totally admire him,” Jordan said of Jeter, who is retiring after the 2014 season. “Being in a city like New York where one little hiccup basically could fry him … he did it in a way where no one could criticize him. And he’s done his job for 20 years. I think that says a lot about him. … Knowing the expectations of others, he’s done it the right way in this era where very few people take the time to say what if before they make that (bad) decision. He’s made the right decisions.”

“I think one of the things a professional strives for is perfection,” Jordan said. “You work hard each and every day. And when you do it the right way and with conviction, as Derek has done, you tend to respond under pressure. In pressure situations, usually it’s who puts forth effort, and very obviously he puts forth the effort in the right way because he’s always responded in the right way.

“You’ve got to give him credit, and to his parents and obviously his managers, all the people that taught him to do the right things. When he gets into the workout area, he works at it so when he gets put into those situations, he responds with the practice that he’s put in. That’s a gift, that’s an effort, that’s a dedication, and that all of us we take pride on it.

“He’s been put in situations that he could succeed at. I’ve been put in situations where I could succeed. Great players, great athletes, they thrive in pressure because they prepare themselves for pressure.

“I think he’s prepared for this,” Jordan said. “He chose to step away from the game. I think there’s a lot of things out there that he hasn’t experienced. I hear it all the time. He hasn’t gotten married. He hasn’t had kids. There’s all different challenges that he’s probably going to go through.”

You might remember MJ being the final hat-tipper to Jeter in this great ad by Nike.